The High Park fire may not be the first time Michael Maher impersonated a firefighter and allegedly made off with gear meant for fire crews, Jefferson County officials announced Wednesday.

A radio recovered from Maher's truck during the High Park arrest was allegedly stolen during the Lower North Fork fire, which burned near Conifer in March, according to information from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

That link led authorities to a cache of other equipment — a chainsaw, meals ready-to-eat, protective clothing, a blue-and-red light strip used on emergency vehicles — stored at Maher's home. The gear is suspected to have been stolen during North Fork or from other agencies.

Michael Maher, visiting the Shambhala Mountain Center on Friday, has previously been charged with sexual assault, harassment and other offenses, according to police. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Now several other jurisdictions are examining whether Maher — who apologized Wednesday for his High Park activities — may be tied to missing equipment elsewhere, said Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

"It's hard to know for certain what he did for our fires. We've not interviewed him yet," Kelley said. "Obviously this causes our citizens and law enforcement to be very concerned about who we have responding to our scenes."

In all, deputies believe Maher pretended to be a firefighter and signed out $2,400 worth of gear during North Fork that he never returned.

Charges in that case — including felony criminal impersonation — could be more serious than the charges in the High Park case. In both cases, Maher is accused of felony theft.

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Maher's defense attorney Dan Recht issued a statement Wednesday on his client's behalf, saying Maher recognized that his actions were immature. The statement professed Maher's a lifelong ambition to be a firefighter.

"He never meant to hurt anyone, loot anything, impede the firefighting effort in any way or do anything but naively and immaturely attempt to help fight the High Park fire," Recht wrote. "Michael continues to be forthcoming and cooperative."

It appears that conviction may have hampered Maher's ambition to fight fires. Former employers told The Denver Post that Maher served a stint with the U.S. Forest Service, but was unable to go "out on the mountain" after the conviction.

The Greater Eagle Fire Protection District confirmed Maher worked there for a short time — less than a few months — in 2003.

"Michael Maher has always dreamed of being a fireman," Recht wrote in his statement. "He has a college degree in fire science technology from Colorado Mountain College, has been certified in many aspects of firefighting (and) has been trained as a firefighter. Unfortunately, he has not been able to obtain employment as a fireman."

Recht also sought to clarify the record saying Maher's credentials were not fraudulently obtained and the firearm found in his truck was legally owned and possessed.

Among the items recovered during the Jefferson County search was a U.S. Forest Service qualification card, the sheriff's office reports.

Maher bonded out of Larimer County jail on Monday. He's not been arrested in connection to the Lower North Fork fire because investigators are still trying to determine from what agencies his cache of equipment was allegedly taken, Kelley said.

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